Yuu Tanaka Read online

  Fran’s plan was quite bewildering. She asked me to use Transmogrify to make myself

  as big as possible.

  I’ve tried shield and string forms once…

  But it never occurred to me to make myself bigger. I strained, focusing my energy to

  increase my size. I enlarged my blade and guard, since Fran still needed to be able to

  hold on to my hilt. I probably overdid it. I was now past the size of a conventional

  horse-cutter. At a length of ten meters, I looked like those giant swords robots wielded

  in mech games. Was I a ship-cutter, then? No, ship-slayer was more like it. I’ve always

  felt that “slayer” had a better ring to it.

  Big enough for you?

  “Hm. Perfect. Let’s go.”

  Go for it! I can’t hold this form for long!

  “No problem!”

  As we fell from the sky, Fran used Increased Weight, Sword Art, and Elemental Blade

  to prepare a gigantic Pressurized Quickdraw. There was a loud crack of air.

  “Haaa!”

  Come on!

  I have to admit that the size increase got to my head. In that moment, it felt like size

  mattered. That size was everything. The pirates couldn’t believe their eyes as a

  gigantic sword came swinging down on them from the sky. The assault sounded like a

  joke, but it would destroy their sanity like a nightmare.

  Fran split the final boat in two. Wood splintered in all directions and was consumed

  by the fires of Elemental Blade. The two halves of the destroyed ship would soon

  reunite on the seabed.

  We can use this.

  “Felt good, at least.”

  Thor’s Hammer and Ship-Slayer were the easiest methods of boat destruction so far—

  Thor’s Hammer for lone ships and Ship-Slayer for fleets.

  Let’s head back.

  “Hm.”

  We returned to the Algieba, leaving the pirates to sleep with the fishes. Jerome rushed

  to Fran like he was going to jump her. He grabbed her hands with one of his and

  excitedly shook them up and down.

  “Now that’s what I wanted to see, Black Lightning Princess!”

  Jerome beamed as he heaped praise on her. He was really glad that his ship and crew

  had escaped unscathed. The sailors welcomed her back with roaring applause. No one

  showed sympathy for the sunken pirates. In this world, it was kill or be killed.

  The adventurers’ mood was a little more subtle. While not terrified, they were quiet

  with awe. Combat prowess was the criterion of judgment for adventurers, and Fran

  had just showcased an excessive amount of strength. Everyone could only gape with

  admiration.

  Mordred broke the silence with a wry smirk. “That was insane… I’ve never seen such

  blatant rank fraud in my life.”

  It sounded like a backhanded compliment, but he was probably just being honest in

  his observation. Fran’s abilities were far above even the strongest C-Rank. The sailors

  calmed down after a while and fell into formation at Jerome’s command.

  “Come on, you lot! Let’s get out of this patch of water!”

  “Aye aye, Captain!”

  “That was quite a show you gave them.”

  The explosive fight had summoned hungry underwater monsters, attracted by both

  noise and diced-up pirate.

  “I think I overdid it.”

  “You just took out five boats without so much a scratch! That’s well worth the risk!”

  “I do hope you will be more measured next time.”

  Unlike his laughing captain, First Mate Buffet was calm and collected. He also had a

  point. If there was a next time, then we would be more careful.

  “I’ll be heading back now.”

  “We’re counting on you if we spot more pirates!”

  “You got it.”

  “Ga ha ha! I’m loving this kid!”

  Fran said goodbye and made her way to her room, but she was stopped by three

  figures who appeared before her.

  “W-we have a favor to ask you!”

  “Please make us your students!”

  Miguel, Riddick, and Naria. The three rookie adventurers fell on their faces.

  “We saw that entire fight.”

  “We want to get stronger. Way stronger!”

  “So please take us as your students!”

  The three rookies were genuine in their request, but there was no way Fran could take

  them on. They were deadweight, and even if they weren’t, Fran’s personality made

  teaching unlikely. However, she gave it some thought.

  “My students?”

  “Yes!”

  “Please!”

  “We’ll do everything you say!”

  The three banged their foreheads on the deck to emphasize their point. They waited

  for Fran’s answer, giving the passing crew members something amusing to look at.

  “Hmm…”

  Are you actually going to take them in?

  No. But it’ll be funny.

  Sure, but that doesn’t mean we can take them with us on our trip. They would only slow

  us down, and there was the chance that they might learn about my existence.

  I know.

  Just needed to make that clear… so what’s on your mind?

  I’ll take them for as long as we’re on the ship.

  I guessed that could work. We were in separate rooms, so they probably wouldn’t

  learn our secret. As long as you’re willing… can you even teach?

  Who cares? It’ll be funny.

  So that was her main reason.

  You need to be upfront and tell them you have no teaching experience. If they’re okay

  with that, then you can take them in.

  “Hm. You can be my students as long as we’re on the ship.”

  “R-really?”

  “But I’ve never taught anyone before. If you’re okay with that, you can be my students.”

  “Sounds good to us!”

  “Alright. I have much to teach you.”

  “Thank you so much!”

  The three rookies bowed, eliciting applause. The crew was apparently invested in our

  little drama. The rookies deserved to be congratulated, too, since they were willing to

  swallow their pride and ask a young yet powerful adventurer for help.

  “We await your instructions, Teacher!” Riddick declared with natural excitement.

  It got him a cold glare from Fran. You’re scaring the guy for being polite now, come on.

  “You can’t call me that.”

  “Huh? Why not?”

  “You just can’t. I am not worthy of it.”

  I was touched at the honor she paid me, but “Teacher” was not the greatest title in the

  world. I didn’t stop her, of course. If they started calling her that, it would only cause

  confusion.

  “Anything but Teacher.”

  “A-alright.”

  “Figure something out.”

  “V-very well.”

  The rookies responded to Fran’s grim pressure with a slow nod. They whispered

  among themselves before presenting Fran with their solution.

  “Wh-what about ‘Master’?”

  “Master?”

  “Y-yes. Will that be okay?”

  “Hm. I am Master.”

  Fran nodded, clearly liking the ring of it. She repeated, “I am Master,” to herself several

  times.

  “We’ll begin your training immediately,” she said.

  “Yes, Master!”

  Fran was quite enthusiastic about the whole business. She must quite like her new

  title. Now, what would she have them do? I wasn’t going to give any feedback. The

  rookies only had themselves to blame if Fran gave them an outrageous training

  schedule. I was only here to make sure Fran enjoyed herself.

  “First up.”

  “Yes?”

  “Shadow practice?”

  “Shadow practice? Right away!”

  Despite the question Fran had put at the end, shadow practice was a good place to start.

  Maybe she had a knack for teaching? But of course she did—Fran was multitalented!

  Miguel and Riddick wasted no time readying their weapons. Miguel swung his

  greatsword, and Riddick stabbed his spear. Naria was the only one left standing

  awkwardly still. Her bow was quite difficult to practice without loading. Still, Fran

  insisted she do the same.

  “Sorry, Master, but I happen to be an archer.”

  “You only have your bow with you?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “That won’t do. An enemy would kill you at melee range.”

  “So I should pick up some close-quarter weapon?”

  “Hm. A dagger will do. Focus on receiving and deflecting rather than attacking. You

  can even throw it if you need to.”

  I was quite surprised at Fran’s instruction. She might actually have a knack for this

  teaching stuff.

  “Understood.”

  “You probably won’t get good at it any time soon, but start today.”

  “Yes, Master!”

  Fran took a rusty dagger out of Pocket Dimension and gave it to Naria. I forgot that we

  still had one of those. It’d probably belonged to a goblin we killed. “Here.”

  “For me?”


  “Hm. It’s too rusty to fight with, but you can use it for practice.”

  “Thank you very much.”

  Fran nodded with approval as Naria took to her training. Although she still hadn’t

  taught them anything.

  “So… do we just keep going?”

  “Hm.”

  Which was a solid plan of action, really. Shadow practice was effective because you

  could do it every day. Also, considering that skills leveled up the more you used them,

  shadow practice was probably a lot more effective than its Terran counterpart.

  Fran kept a close eye on her pupils. I was looking forward to seeing how they fared at

  the end of this voyage.

  ***

  The next morning, the trainees’ day began early in a corner of the deck. That was

  where Master Fran held her Basics in Battle for Adventurers.

  The three were wide awake, a far cry from their lazy posture back in Bulbola. They

  hadn’t necessarily had a change of heart—Fran’s victory was just the wake-up call they

  needed. To their credit, maybe they weren’t that lazy, after all. In any case, the rookies

  were certainly more organized now—maybe because Fran had already Intimidated

  them, saying, “Can’t you even fall in line, you maggots?”

  She’d asked me for advice on training drills the night before and I had inadvertently

  told her about the marine corps… a regiment she took immediate interest in. Sorry for

  making your life tougher, you guys.

  I quickly told her to use a different tack. I couldn’t bear the rookies looking scared for

  their lives. Fran complied. Really, she just wanted a framework to base her curriculum

  on.

  “First, you stretch.”

  “St-stretch?”

  “It must be a powerful training method!”

  “Maybe it’ll unlock our mana channels…”

  The trainees locked on to the idea. I guessed stretching was unheard of in this world.

  While they did loosen up before a physical activity, they had never heard of an activity

  solely dedicated to it. When we’d first met, I had to tell Fran how to stretch. Now, it

  was her turn to pass it on.

  “It warms you up before exercising.”

  “I see. And that’s a good thing?”

  “Hm.”

  “Very interesting. So how is that a good thing?”

  “Warming up your body just makes you better,” Fran said.

  “I’m sorry, but better how? Can you give us any examples?”

  “Hm? You’re just better.”

  I told her the benefits of warming up when we met, but Fran had already forgotten.

  She knew that it allowed you to move and feel better during training, and that was

  what mattered. Her trainees followed her cue. I thought they would’ve gotten tired of

  Fran’s vague instructions, but they did as they were told.

  “Uhh… is this really necessary?”

  “Of course it is, idiot! Do I need to remind you who’s teaching us?!”

  “R-right.”

  “We’re probably not feeling the effects because of our low rank.”

  “Y-yeah. If the Black Lightning Princess does it, it must be powerful!”

  “Yes. I’m sure it’ll pay off at some point.”

  “That’s right! Maybe our master is so strong thanks to this stretching thing!”

  “I see! So this training routine has hidden effects that we can’t feel yet!”

  “I’m sure of it!”

  “Now I’m pumped!”

  No, it really was nothing special. At most, stretching prevented you from getting

  injured. I guess you could argue that allowed you to train harder, but still.

  “Teacher taught me this stretching.”

  “Teacher? Is that your master?”

  “Hm.”

  “What’s he like?”

  “Teacher is the world’s best teacher. I got all my powers from him.”

  “Wow! He must be an amazing warrior!”

  “He’s the best ever.”

  “And if that great warrior came up with stretching—”

  “Then it must have powerful effects!”

  “Now I’m really pumped!”

  The three trainees stretched enthusiastically, which sort of defeated the purpose. Fran

  corrected their form and told them to take it slowly. The trainees received her advice

  with almost euphoric adoration. For Fran to stoop so low and give them instruction

  was an action worthy of deep respect. Their enthusiasm soon disappeared after Fran

  told them about the next item on the menu.

  “Now, we spar.”

  “What?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Wh-who are we sparring with?”

  The memory of their first sparring session was still painfully fresh in their minds. They

  hoped that they wouldn’t have to go up against their master. Maybe she would make

  them fight each other.

  Fran wasted no time in dashing their hopes. “Hm. You’ll all go one-on-one with me.”

  “Very well…”

  “You can go first, Naria”

  “Excuse me, I thought you were the leader!”

  “I am also a gentleman who believes in ladies first.”

  “Way to be chivalrous, Riddick!”

  As the three bickered over who would be first on the chopping block, Fran pointed to

  Miguel and settled the issue. “Greatsword. You first.”

  “S-seriously?”

  “Hurry up.”

  “Yes, Master!”

  “Show her what you’re made of, big guy.”

  “And try not to die.”

  “Y-you bastards are going next, don’t forget that!” Miguel stepped forward with

  despair written all over his face.

  “Come at me.”

  “Alright! Raaargh!”

  Miguel slashed his greatsword down. He didn’t hesitate, knowing the difference in

  their strength. His swing was powerful enough to split an ordinary man clean in two.

  He held nothing back, but Fran saw through his attack. It was easy to dodge, and even

  easier to block.

  The crew watching the spectacle were horrified, of course. To them, it looked like the

  guy with the greatsword was trying to chop the little girl in half. Not all of them knew

  the extent of Fran’s abilities yet. The crew were already bewildered at adults receiving

  instruction from a little girl, and now they gasped in horror. Fortunately, the horror

  they imagined never happened.

  “Your stroke is too long.”

  Fran dodged by a hair’s breadth, her bangs fluttering in Miguel’s missed swing. She

  actually had a lot of time to evade. Even if Miguel had managed to change trajectory

  midswing, she would still have had time to dodge. That was the difference in their

  strength.

  “Yaah!”

  “Having a strong first attack is important, but it won’t do you any good if you miss.”

  “Dammit!”

  “Use shorter strokes.”

  “Haaa!”

  “Your footwork needs work, too.”

  “Urgh!”

  Fran dodged Miguel’s attacks and made no attempt to retaliate. She struck him from

  time to time to show him his weak points. The sailors were shocked, but Miguel was

  quite pleased that Fran instructed him so seriously. The match carried on for another

  ten minutes before Miguel collapsed with exhaustion.

  “Hm. Your last few moves were alright.”

  “Th-thank you, Master!”

  “Lancer, you’re up next.”

  “Yes, Master!”

  Another fierce sparring match began, with Riddick as her opponent. Unlike Miguel,

  Riddick was more precise and aimed specifically for his opponent’s weak points. But,

  as methodical as his stabs were, they were too clean. Fran saw right through them.

  “Your attacks are too predictable.”

  “Kuh!”

  “I can see all your moves. Play a bit more.”

  “Haaa!”

  “That was good, if a bit slow.”

  Fran continued to dodge Riddick’s attacks, touching parts of his body that he left open.

  She wanted to show that he would’ve been killed ten times over in a real fight.